South Carolina Governor's Race Tightens in Final Stretch

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2010 -- Nikki Haley burst onto the national political stage four months ago as one of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies" and has appeared poised to make history as South Carolina's first woman and Indian-American governor.

But now some polls show the race tightening to single digits amid new accusations that Haley has failed to be as transparent as promised -- developments which draw into question whether the Republican state representative can seal the deal.

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A collection of emails obtained by the Associated Press Saturday show that Haley was effectively forced out of her most recent job as a hospital fundraiser despite her public statements that she left amicably and voluntarily.

And Haley continues to be trailed by questions about her experience as a "business person" who has not owned a business, her legislative achievements in the state general assembly and two separate, unsubstantiated claims of extramarital affairs.

"The momentum is in our court," said an aide to Democrat Vincent Sheheen. "Voters have a very distinct choice in terms of trust and integrity."

Sheheen's latest ad hammers Haley for late and unpaid taxes and ties her to the scandal-tainted outgoing Republican Gov. Mark Sanford. "Can we afford another governor who says one thing and does another?" the narrator asks, as Sanford's face appears next to Haley.

Sanford, who is term-limited, was caught in an affair with an Argentine mistress last year despite repeated public denials.

Vince Sheheen "has spent all of his time, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, slinging mud at Nikki Haley in a desperate attempt to distract voters from his liberal record and embrace of the Obama agenda. It's not working," said Haley campaign spokesman Rob Godfrey.

In Haley's latest ad, Sheheen is cast as a "liberal, Columbia insider, and a trial lawyer" who would be bad for South Carolina businesses.

"Taxpayers and small businesses are already squeezed, and now they're on the hook for billions of dollars thanks to President Obama's spending and health care disasters," Haley said at a rally Thursday. "The last thing we can afford is a governor who supports ObamaCare like Vince Sheheen."